Becoming Daddy
by aviciousunicycle
Summary: Han has his first moments alone with his newborn son, Ben, and comes to term with his new role as a father to the tiny infant.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of it except the idea. I'm sure you probably know that, but I like to walk the safe side of the law.

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Author's Note: I've never written this fandom before, so if something's wrong or seems off, that's probably why. I'm not really sold on the title, but it's all I could think of, so it's what I went with. Hope you enjoy.

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The sun was beginning to peek above the horizon and through a gap in the heavy curtains of a room on the second level of a hospital. As if guided by an incredibly accurate navicomputer, the slit of light struck the face of Han Solo dozing in an armchair.

He groaned and grumbled as the sunlight jarred him awake. Standing, he closed the curtains further, making sure that the morning sun would not wake the room's other occupants.

Han turned and looked at his wife, passed out in a hospital bed, he doubted very much if sunlight could wake her today. The past several hours had been more physically taxing for her than anything that he could imagine. He walked over to the bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  
Then he moved over to the reason that they were here, a dark-haired bundle of cloth squirming in his bassinet as he began to wake.

A few gurgles issued forth from the infant's mouth and, out of concern that this cries would wake an exhausted Leia, Han picked the boy up and cradled him in his arms.  
"Shh, shh, shh, buddy. Don't want to wake your mom," Han whispered, sitting down in the armchair. For a split-second, the look on the baby's face had Han bracing himself for an unholy wail.  
"Come on, little guy. Come on, Ben. Be good for Daddy," he plead. As he spoke, Ben's face turned to him and, even though everyone has told him that newborns see with the same sharpness as he had while recovering from hibernation sickness, Han would swear that those little eyes studied his face. A grin splits Han's star-tanned face.  
"Hey, yeah, I'm…I'm…," he found himself having trouble saying anything.

It was no secret that Han had been concerned, perhaps even frustrated, when they had learned of Leia's pregnancy. The thought of being responsible for the well-being of a helpless infant had been the ultimate damnation for a perpetually wandering space pirate like himself.  
The biggest tie-down ever.  
Yet, looking at the little round face in the crook of his elbow, he could not find any reluctance in his heart.

"I'm your daddy," Han finished, smiling down at Ben.  
The newborn silently opened and closed his mouth, seemingly content.  
"And you, little guy, are Ben. Ben Solo," he could not stop the chuckle that built in his chest at the thought of a little boy bearing his name. "Ben _Solo_ ," he repeated, "son of Han Solo and….and Leia Solo."  
Han closed his eyes for a moment, letting the meaning of his words sink in.  
"Well," he added with a mischievous smile, "your mom prefers for people to call her Leia _Organa_ , but we don't have to tell anyone that Daddy doesn't always do what she prefers."

Ben's tiny balled fist swung up and Han laughed, catching it in his own hand. "Wow," he said, looking at the tiny fingers spread in his palm, "you're so tiny. I've…I've never held anything so tiny."  
Han released the baby's hand and moved his own to stroke the dark hairs atop the newborn's head. He studied the boy's features and it struck him what this child represented.  
Ben was half himself and half Leia. The product of a union between himself and the woman that he loved.  
He chuckled. "You've barely been around for five hours and you've already got your old man turning sappy," Han teased.  
Oblivious, Ben shoved two little fingers into his mouth and drooled on them.  
"You don't care, do you, bud?" Han chuckled.  
The baby's attention returned to his father. Han brought the infant up and craned his own neck down, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of his son's forehead.  
"I love you, Ben" Han said, his voice a low rumble, "Daddy loves you."  
Big brown eyes stared up at him as the baby resumed his wordless mouthing.  
The new father smiled, "You have your mother's eyes, you know?" he asked the child.  
He nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice, hoarse with sleep, added, "And your father's chin."

Han looked up and saw Leia observing the interaction between father and son. "How long have you been awake?" he asked.  
She smiled, "Long enough to know that you're going to be a wonderful father, Laser-Brain."  
He smirked in return, "Thanks, Princess, you're gonna be pretty great yourself."


End file.
